03-17-2022, 09:41 PM
Millennials are simultaneously a generation of Civic duty (I do think this has proved true as predicted) and a generation of anti-nationalists. They occupy a generational archetype which is supposed to pull people together, but while they are a generation of conventionalism and conformity, they do so with a fixation on what makes us different rather than what makes us the same. I get that there is a time and place to pull in the struggling stragglers and helping them bandage their wounds, but millennials are doing so at the expense of forming any kind of cohesive whole which makes us stronger.
Many individual millennials are quite strong and competent. I'd even argue we're a fairly industrious and conscientious generation overall, and these are all good things, but what's strange to me is....they don't seem to actually be proud of any of this, viewing it instead as some necessary evil from which they can afford to abstain once times get better, not realizing it was the lack thereof which tends to lead to periods of crisis to begin with. imo, they've internalized too much of the internal, spiritual and "awareness" elements celebrated from the 2T (a time in which they were much more necessary). At present, it's turned into a kind of insular delusion where people are in poverty, living in terrible health, have few friends, experience a low collective self-image and are further socially isolated by oppressive lockdowns, and then turn around like "why is my mental health so bad?", as if they are going to find the answer by meditating, reading moral/spiritual texts or exploring their emotions. There are times where everyone needs to do this at least a little bit, and being a trained classical singer, personality theory enthusiast and amateur historian, I have done and enjoyed plenty. At the moment though? Seeking out more of this is simply out of balance, more of the same. As Einstein put it: "Insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result". If you can't find the answer looking to the internal world, look to the outer world.
To get out of this, we need to start taking pride in these reluctant virtues we've developed, push them forward to build great works which we and others can admire, restore some sense of "we're doing something right! let's keep going!". No one is asking to return to the days where people simply casually ignored the vices of our history and present circumstances, least of all my cynical ass, but...are we seriously content with this flaccid self-image we've developed? Are we content to simply lay down and curl up in a corner like an elderly lion past his prime?
I'm not asking for cheap, chauvinistic boasting, racial superiority theories, fascistic top-down control or emotional repression (I'm actually asking for more of certain types of emotions). I'm stating the common sense truth that we can't make things better for our country if we don't give a shit about the concept of our country or the people in it in the first place.
Many individual millennials are quite strong and competent. I'd even argue we're a fairly industrious and conscientious generation overall, and these are all good things, but what's strange to me is....they don't seem to actually be proud of any of this, viewing it instead as some necessary evil from which they can afford to abstain once times get better, not realizing it was the lack thereof which tends to lead to periods of crisis to begin with. imo, they've internalized too much of the internal, spiritual and "awareness" elements celebrated from the 2T (a time in which they were much more necessary). At present, it's turned into a kind of insular delusion where people are in poverty, living in terrible health, have few friends, experience a low collective self-image and are further socially isolated by oppressive lockdowns, and then turn around like "why is my mental health so bad?", as if they are going to find the answer by meditating, reading moral/spiritual texts or exploring their emotions. There are times where everyone needs to do this at least a little bit, and being a trained classical singer, personality theory enthusiast and amateur historian, I have done and enjoyed plenty. At the moment though? Seeking out more of this is simply out of balance, more of the same. As Einstein put it: "Insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result". If you can't find the answer looking to the internal world, look to the outer world.
To get out of this, we need to start taking pride in these reluctant virtues we've developed, push them forward to build great works which we and others can admire, restore some sense of "we're doing something right! let's keep going!". No one is asking to return to the days where people simply casually ignored the vices of our history and present circumstances, least of all my cynical ass, but...are we seriously content with this flaccid self-image we've developed? Are we content to simply lay down and curl up in a corner like an elderly lion past his prime?
I'm not asking for cheap, chauvinistic boasting, racial superiority theories, fascistic top-down control or emotional repression (I'm actually asking for more of certain types of emotions). I'm stating the common sense truth that we can't make things better for our country if we don't give a shit about the concept of our country or the people in it in the first place.
ammosexual
reluctant millennial
reluctant millennial